Tuesday, March 31, 2020

Good Governance Essay Example

Good Governance Essay Governance is defined here; as the dynamic interaction between people, structures, processes and traditions that support the exercise of legitimate authority in provision of sound leadership, direction, oversight, and control of an entity in order to ensure that its purpose is achieved, and that there is proper accounting for the conduct of its affairs, the use of its resources, and the results of its activities. Good governance is an indeterminate term used in development literature to describe how public institutions conduct public affairs and manage public resources in order to guarantee the realization of human rights. [1] Governance describes the process of decision-making and the process by which decisions are implemented (or not implemented). [1] The term governance can apply to corporate, international, national, local governance [1] or to the interactions between other sectors of society. In international affairs, analysis of good governance can look at any of the following relationships:[3] †¢ between governments and markets, between governments and citizens, †¢ between governments and the private or voluntary sector, †¢ between elected officials and appointed officials, †¢ between local institutions and urban and rural dwellers, †¢ between legislature and executive branches, and †¢ between nation states and institutions. The varying types of comparison s comprising the analysis of governance in scholastic and practical discussion can cause the meaning of good governance to vary greatly from practitioner to practitioner. [3] Reform and standards We will write a custom essay sample on Good Governance specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Good Governance specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Good Governance specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Three institutions can be reformed to promote good governance: the state, the private sector and civil society. [6] However, amongst various cultures, the need and demand for reform can vary depending on the priorities of that countrys society. [7] A variety of country level initiatives and international movements put emphasis on various types of governance reform. Each movement for reform establishes criteria for what they consider good governance based on their own needs and agendas. The following are examples of good governance standards for prominent organizations in the international community. IMF The International Monetary Fund declared in 1996 that promoting good governance in all its aspects, including by ensuring the rule of law, improving the efficiency and accountability of the public sector, and tackling corruption, as essential elements of a framework within which economies can prosper. [8] The IMF feels that corruption within economies is caused by the ineffective governance of the economy, either too much regulation or too little regulation. [8] To receive loans from the IMF, countries must have certain good governance policies, as determined by the IMF, in place. 8] UN The United Nations emphasizes reform through human development and political institution reform. [9] According to the UN, good governance has eight characteristics. [1] Good governance is[1]: †¢ Consensus Oriented †¢ Participatory †¢ following the Rule of Law †¢ Effective and Efficient †¢ Accountable †¢ Transparent †¢ Responsive †¢ Equitable and Inclusive Wo rld Bank The World Bank is more concerned with the reform of economic and social resource control. [9] In 1992, it underlined three aspects of society which they feel affect the nature of a countrys governance:[9] 1. ype of political regime; 2. process by which authority is exercised in the management of the economic and social resources, with a view to development; and 3. capacity of governments to formulate policies and have them effectively implemented. The concept of good governance has gained significant attention in the world and especially in Pakistan in the last decade. Since there are few theoretical studies on this issue in Pakistan, this paper analyzes the impact of some significant macroeconomic variables on good governance using time series data for empirical analysis. In this paper, democracy, economic openness, population size, peace years, unemployment, exchange rate, budget deficit, life expectancy and educational levels are considered the major macroeconomic determinants of good governance. We have employed the concept of stationarity to solve the by using Augmented Dickey Fuller (ADF) test. By conducting the time series regression analysis, we found that the stated variables are affecting the degree of good governance according to their levels. Good governance has gained significant attention in the world especially in the last decade. In recent years, good governance has attracted the attention of economists, political scientists, lawyers, politicians, national institutions, and institutions of World Bank and IMF. Since some empirical and theoretical controversies have been found on the concept and importance of good governance but it can be considered as a prerequisite for economic growth and development (Kaufmann and Kraay, 2002 and 2003). Governance can also be seen as the instrument of the effectiveness of a society’s institutions. If the institutions are appropriate and effective, the outcome should be good governance (Duncan 2003). Governance is the instrument of political, economic and administrative authorities to manage a nations affairs. It is the diverse mechanisms, processes, relationships and institutions through which residents of country and groups communicative their benefits, exercise their rights and obligations and arbitrate their differences. In good governance countries, the working condition is generally more favourable for providing protection and guarantees for investors. Good governance is therefore a compartment of governance, wherein public capital and problems are managed effectively, efficiently and in response to vital needs of society. Effective elected forms of governance rely on public participation, accountability and transparency. There is an increasing amount of research on the factors that lead to good or bad governance in the world. Good governance creates a good environment for investment, including investment in people, and leads to higher income, reduces poverty, and provides better social indicators. According to UNDP, governance can be worked out as economic, political and administrative authorities to manage a countrys affairs at all levels. It joints the systems, processes and institutions, through which residents and groups articulate their interests, put into affect their legal rights, meet their obligations and mediate their differences. More modern studies have pointed out that face-to-face interactions, trust and partnership within voluntary associations enhance the capacity of people to work together. By helping residents to overcome combined action problems, trust and membership in voluntary associations are recognized as important factors in building the basis for responsive governance (Putnam 1993, 2000). World Bank has described the concept of good governance in various dimensions such as rule of law, government effectiveness, regulatory quality and control of corruption. These dimensions cover the whole society and economic sectors of the economies. As a matter of fact, this study will locate the variables that have more effect on these dimensions. Governance has engaged all concerns of society and economic operators for economic development but it is also considered as a fundamental element to be incorporated in the development strategy. Nonetheless, having its importance, differences also exist in respect of hypothetical formulations, policy prescriptions and conceptualization of the subject itself. Researchers have different ideology convictions due to which its formulation differs in different areas. Policy analysis stand empirically on the historical research of governance gives distinction to government failures to deliver, leading to propositions for downsizing or rightsizing, while policy prescriptions for good governance take an evolutionary observation of the matter questioning relevance of public sector management of certain activities in a changed context. Good governance is the term that symbolizes the paradigm shift of the role of governments. Unfortunately, this wide reaching and internationally imperative claim have not been sufficiently proved empirically in Pakistan. To fill this gap in the literature, this study aims to analyze the determinants of good governance in Pakistan. Thus, the hypothesis tested in this analysis is given as follows: â€Å"how do higher levels of social and economic variables in Pakistan contribute to better governance. † Since the major objective of this study is to analyze the factors that affect the good governance in Pakistan, the paper is organised as follows. Section II explores the conceptual and theoretical framework of good governance. Section III presents the brief literature review on good governance. Data and methodological issues are addressed in section IV. Section V presents the results of an econometric model and discussion. Conclusion and policy implications are given in the last section. II. Conceptual Framework of Good Governance From 1990s, the idea of good governance as an instrument for sustained development and poverty alleviation has gained widespread acknowledgment, especially among international organizations. Local concerns over what would later be labelled good governance had long been represent in all regions of the world. However, during the Cold War, much importance was not given to good governance but after it when structural adjustment programme was failed to overcome the economicproblems of many countries and objectives were not achieved then the need of good governance was realized to implement these policies. This problem was faced mostly in developing countries where policies were effectively prepared but not implemented properly due to bad governance. Good governance is also pointed out as one of the targets of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), an agenda for poverty alleviation and sustainable development. At the Sixth Session of the Committee on Development Policy (CDP), promise to good governance and how to improve the progress were one of the agenda. Governance has been defined as the organization of society by the people, or as the use of authority to manage a countrys affairs and assets. It has to be noted, however, that there has hardly been consented as to its foundation meanings, and as to how it could be implemented in practice. Less clarity in the meanings of the term governance becomes noticeable when its historical evolution is considered. The concept achieved distinction in donor discourse around 1990, after the end of the Cold War. The World Bank was the first donor institution to implement the concept of good governance as a condition for lending to developing countries. In the start, centre of attention was rather political and on the improvement in the quality of public sector institutions. By the mid-1990s, international donors thinking of good governance had extended to include the concept of transparency, accountability, and participation. This addition was due to financial crises started in the last of 1990s, and for improvement of governance and stability of international financial institutions. Good governance can be identified with the following features: i. Good governance is mutually supportive and cooperative relationships between government, society, and the private sector. The nature of relationships among these three characters, and the need to make stronger viable system to facilitate interactions,assume critical importance. ii. Good governance is defined as control of all, or some combination of, the following elements: contribution, transparency of decision-making, accountability, rule of law, predictability. iii. Good governance is normative in origin. The values that provide the foundation for governance are the values postulated by the defining characters and institutions. This last point needs special consideration and attention. If donor-conceptualized standard of good governance were insisted upon, it would imply an insistence that Western-derived standards of manner be adopted in non-Western cultural environment. Scholars have also raised the problem of possible contradictions and trade-offs among the elements, for instance, economic growth, labour conditions, civil liberties, and the protection of the environment. The standards of good governance applied on the national, global and corporate environments would serve the goals of poverty alleviation and sustainable development.

Saturday, March 7, 2020

buy custom Raphael Lemkin essay

buy custom Raphael Lemkin essay Raphael Lemkin is the figure behind the start of the genocide conventions. He is the person behind the invention of the term genocide. This was well detailed in his book on the imperialism of the Nazis, Axis Rule in Occupied Europe. The origin stretches far much back. He came up with three concepts -: the groupism social ontology most common in the Eastern Europe where he born and raised; the western legal tradition that covered the international law conquest, occupations that was exploitative, and wars that were aimed at the civilians. He was the supporter of what has been termed by many sociologists as groupism. This is the tendency to treat ethnic groups, nations, and races as substantial entities to which interests and agency can be attributed, that is to refer to them as internally homogenous, external bounded groups, even unitary, collective actors with common purposes. His commitment took the liberals from America with surprise. They him his strive as an elemental confusion. However his intention revealed how his ideas had a world focus. One would be tempted to ask where he got to have a world view to the matter. It is recorded that when he was a boy he was brought to close to the human cultural persecution by the story of the Christians who were to be exterminated by Nero the Roman emperor. His knowledge on the ethnic groups such as: the France Huguenots; the Japanese Catholics; the Spaniel Muslims led to conclude that the destruction of ethnic groups was a universal and a persistent problem. The Jews persecution was part of the things that he got knowledge on their suffering; the Jews that came from his area had been persecuted by the progroms. However his focus was beyond the boundaries of his home area. He grew up in the in the international world of Eastern Europe. He shared the Herders cosmopolitanism which recommended the sticking of individual principles; the Mazzini, which believed in the peoples unique role symphony of nations. The philosophy behind the conventions on genocide is based on the human cosmos formula. It consists of four primary tenets: racial, national, ethnic and religion. These groups are taken care of not just by human reasoning of compassion but also to ensure that the mankind spiritual resources are not drained. It is also worth noting that behind the protection of the above groups from extermination is the assumption of communitarian that nationhood and nations are inherently invaluable as compared to other collections of human for instance the political parties. Instead they gie meaning to life and are made up of human civilization. It therefore goes without saying that Lemkin was brought up as a religious Jew. He was an ecumenical cosmopolitan and a Polish patriot who championed for all the cultures and never turned his back on the Jewish culture or heritage. He constantly said the genocide that was undertaken by the Nazis on the Jews and the Polish Christians who were murdered by the Roma. His concepts were drawn from the spiritual nationality which its origin can be traced to the Herder and some sources of Jew. It is quite evident that culture is the center point of his genocide conception. Immediately the war ended he came up with the anthropology of Bronislaw and Sir James to rejuvenate his mode of thinking. Bronislaw was an influential anthropologist in Britain. It is from this that he ruled out that the human needs up to including culture can be expressed in social institutions or can be anthropologically termed as ethos of culture. If a group culture is by way of violence undermined, the group is made to break up the result is that members will be taken in by other cultures which is painful and wasteful process to the disorganization of a person subsequently destruction which is painful. He therefore concluded that the destruction of cultural symbols is genocide. As a result of his support for culture he also supported the treaty of national minority. This was under League of Nations. His struggle therefore for the human right on genocide will be remembered to have majorly stemmed from culture. Eleanor Roosevelt It should be noted that it is not only the Jews that were only persecuted by the Nazis. Many other people were persecuted because of what they believed in, and because of their originality. This also included the handicapped, the Gypsies, homosexual, social democrats, Jehovah witnesses and those who posed a threat to the Hitlers administration and his quest for lebensraum and the superiority of his race. Though Lemkin might have been the first to come up with word genocide it is deemed to precede Holocaust. The Japanese atrocities that led to lots of rape, razing down of cities and towns, and the looting are among the few unnecessary evils committed. Germany assumed responsibility for their evils, turkey and Japan denied. After the World War II lots of protests were witnessed regarding the atrocities that were committed against the Jews. The human rights activist and the Jews carried out the protest. This led to the indictment of the Nazis and the Japanese. They were later ttried as criminals of war by an international military tribunal. This also prepared a ground for international law which was to ensure that no one was going to be above the law irrespective of the position held in the society. This included any crimes against peace. It included- : initiating, planning, and violating of international agreements and treaties against humanity; deportations, extermination, and crimes of genocide war; namely, war law violation; and a common plan or conspiracy to commit acts of criminality. These tenets of law later became the foundation of the UN convention on the genocide crimes. It was first voted and unanimously accepted by the general assembly as the first human right treaty (Meade and Merry 92). Eleanor Roosevelt was the then the driving force behind the drafting of the Universal Declaration. This came in the wake of Carlos Rumulo the Filipino diplomat who was serving a court sentence for the crimes committed against humanity. In her address to the general assembly she declared that This Declaration may well become the international Magna Carta of all men everywhere. We hope its proclamation by the General Assembly will be an event comparable to the proclamation of the Declaration of the Rights of Man by the French people of 1789, the adoption of the Bill of Rights by the people of the United States, and the adoptions of comparable at the different times in other countries It is also important to note that Roosevelt was the member and chairperson of the commission that represented the nations diversity which included-: Belgium, Australia, china, Byelorussia, France Egypt, Iran, India, Panama, Lebanon, Ukraine, Philippines, United States, United Kingdom, Uruguay, Yugoslavia, and USSR (Meade and Wiesner-Hanks 27). Eleanor Roosevelt and other framers who were gifted who for long had been by her side shared her spirit of committee of UNESCO. For a span of one year she worked hard to draft the document. She was assisted by other gifted scholars. Despite lot of objections from political and philosophical rivalries, individual commissioner felt the need for it and in the end contributed by putting aside philosophical and personal differences. The ideological differences often stood on the way of the commission on human rights, and subsequently the sour relations between the west and the east made things hard for the commission (Fredrickson 72). It shall be remembered that Eleanor Roosevelt with a lot of determination managed to convince a number of government administration to adopt the Universal Declarations and incorporate it in their socioeconomics. Buy custom Raphael Lemkin essay

Thursday, February 20, 2020

The Mediating Effects of Time Structure on the Relationships between Article

The Mediating Effects of Time Structure on the Relationships between Time Management Behavior, Job Satisfaction and Psychological Wellbeing - Article Example Macan’s (1994) model conceptualizes how individuals manage time to achieve performance and maintain well being. Bond and Feather (1988) termed â€Å"time structure† to â€Å"the degree to which individuals perceive their use of time as structured and purposive† (p. 321). How employment provides individuals with a sense of structure and purpose, and how the absence of such a structure has negative influences. In a recent study, Kelly (2003) examined the relationship between worry and time usage amongst university students. Kelly found that the negative impact of Time Structure is worry. Kelly’s finding is inconsistent with many previous studies, which suggest that Time Management Behaviors (TMB) positively predict psychological consequences, such as personal wellbeing, work and life satisfaction. Macan and her colleagues developed the Time Management Behavior scale (Macan, 1994; Macan et al., 1990) by the twin surveys of college students and organization employees. Macan classified time management behavior into three categories Setting goals and priorities; mechanics of time management behaviors, and preference for organization. Setting goals and priorities includes â€Å"items that tap the setting of goals the person wants or needs to accomplish and prioritizing of the various tasks to achieve these goals† (Macan et al., 1990, p. 761). Mechanics of time management refers to the â€Å"behaviors typically associated with managing time, such as making lists and planning† (Macan et al., 1990, p. 761). Preference for organization refers to a reverse-scored factor that includes items measuring â€Å"a general preference for disorganization in one’s workspace and approach to projects† (Macan et al., 1990, p. 761). Based on this categorization of time ma nagement behaviors, Macan (1994) proposed the process model, which hypothesized that time management behaviors predict an individual’s perceived control of time, which in turn predicts job

Tuesday, February 4, 2020

Three policies that led to the outbreak of War in Europe in 1914. What Essay

Three policies that led to the outbreak of War in Europe in 1914. What nation is primary responisble - Essay Example For instance, Germany established aggressive foreign policies that created unhealthy relationship with other nations. The policies deteriorated the existing peaceful trading partnerships and eventually led to the poor performance of the international market. The three policies that fuelled the war were; the Germany’s expansionist policy, the emergence of two opposing sides (the triple alliance and the triple alliance) and the isolation policy. Germany had a great urge to dominate the world economy. The only means to achieve this was by acquiring more territories and colonies. By this time, the world was portioned among the major powers such as the Britain. In this regard, Germany had to use military conquest to acquire territories that were already possessed by other European nations. The use of force to acquire new territories strained the already poor relation between Germany and some European powers such as Britain. These nations responded furiously to defend their interest and to maintain their political and economic power. This eventually led to the sprouting of a massive war that spread to almost all parts of the world. Some countries in Europe started forming defense alliances and promised to protect each other in case any of them was attacked by their rivals. For instance, Germany and Austria-Hungary joined and formed the dual alliance. Italy joined the alliance, and the three formed the triple alliance. On the other hand, Britain, France and Russian joined to form the triple entente. These two coalitions heightened the tension among the rival European nations leading to the sparking of the World War 1. The isolation policy adopted USA also contributed to the sprouting of the war. The US kept off from engaging in European affairs and thereby cold not assist in reconciling the European nations. However, it offered financial support to warring nations. The responsibility of the war can be blamed on Germany’s ultimate support for

Monday, January 27, 2020

Detecting Autoantibodies in Human Sera Samples using ELISA

Detecting Autoantibodies in Human Sera Samples using ELISA Introduction Autoimmunity is a series of immune responses that is made against an organisms own cells and tissues due to inability to recognise own cells and tissues as self (Mandal, 2014). Diseases can arise as a result of autoimmunity. This includes lupus (SLE). Lupus (SLE) arises because of immunological mechanisms. With tolerance to antigens is lost and production of autoreactive lymphocytes the process of autoantibody is produced. Continuous production of autoantibodies from autoantibody producing cells results in formation of immune complexes. (Bolland and Ravetch, 2000). There are many factors which influence the susceptibility and development of lupus (SLE). These include hormonal, environmental, and genetic factors (Lisnevskaia et al, 2014). Genes involved in lupus (SLE) include MHC loci, tumor necrosis factor alpha, components of the complement factor and the mannose binding protein (Tsao and Grossman, 2001). Environmental triggers have influence on expression for lupus (SLE) such as vi tamin D deficiency. Vitamin D has an important role in order for the immune system to function properly because receptors of vitamin D are found in the cells of the immune system such as T lymphocytes, monocytes and dendritic cells. Also reduced vitamin D intake due to photosensitivity is associated with lupus (SLE). Thus, deficiency in vitamin D has a major consequence for the immune system and can create autoimmune diseases (Albishri et al, 2015). Hormones have a role in acting as chemical messengers in the immune response (Csaba, 2014). These chemical signals produced from hormones are disrupted especially between the brain and target cells which is an important factor in lupus (SLE) (Pick, n.d.). Because of this disrupted balance of hormone production certain hormones are more prevalent which cause lupus (SLE). High estrogen concentrations have been linked to lupus (SLE) due to it causing autoimmunity and with patients having a fast conversion of androgens to estrogens. Patients with joint pains are linked with lupus (SLE) and also have a high concentration of estrogen (Lupusinternational.com, n.d.). Diagnosis of lupus (SLE) include the lupus band test which detects for the presence of antinuclear antibodies. This is done using immunofluorescence. By looking at the florescence pattern the type of antibody can be detected. For a person to be positive for lupus (SLE) IgG and other complement depositions will be found at the dermoepidermal junction. To be specific there will be a bandlike deposit along the epidermal basement membrane due to the presence of IgG. Also a bandlike deposit will be present in the nucleus of the epidermal cells. A high concentration of anti-dsDNA antibody from titers also shows the presence of SLE due to anti-dsDNA antibody having a high specificity for SLE (Gill et al, 2003). Diagnosis can also be made using the SLICC criteria. For a patient to have SLE, at least four criterions need to be met including one clinical criterion (Petr i et al, 2012). There is currently no cure for SLE but a number of treatments are available. Prognosis for SLE has improved significantly since the 1950s with people diagnosed it living for less than five years. Now ninety percent of people with SLE live over ten years. The effect of SLE is more evident in men and children than in women. Causes of early death has been due to failure of organs and infections. Because of improved survival rate other factors have come in to play for the death of SLE patients. Cardiovascular disease is one factor and it is important to prevent this from being developed (Doria et al, 2006).       The ELISA test is a diagnostic test used to measure the concentration of certain antibodies or antigens present in a sample from a disease patient. ELISA is unique due to the separation of specific and non-specific interactions during serial binding to the multiwell plate. At the end of ELISA, a coloured product is produced that is associated with the amount of antibody or antigen present in the solution sample (Bio-Rad, n.d.). The first step of ELISA is coating, where a layer of antigen or antibody is adsorbed to the wells on the plate. After coating, blocking and detection are the next steps. Several washes are needed between each ELISA step to remove unbound materials. During this process excess liquid is removed in order to prevent dilution of the solutions added in the next stage (Bio-Rad, n.d.). For detection of SLE in the patient, the patients serum sample undergoes the ELISA test to detect the concentration of anti-dsDNA-antibodies which is specific for patients with SLE. A h igh concentration of anti-dsDNA-antibodies will indicate that the patient has SLE (Wigand et al, 1997). The aim of this experiment is to measure the concentration of anti-dsDNA-antibody present in both of the serum samples using the ELISA test by binding to the complimentary antigen double stranded DNA in the wells. The samples come from a female patient known to be suffering from SLE. Sample A was obtained when she was feeling relatively well and sample B was collected on the day of the practical. By comparing the yellow colour intensity at the end of the ELISA test for both samples and compared to the controls and using the standard curve the concentration of anti-dsDNA antibodies can be obtained and correlated to the relevant SLE prognosis level. An assay result above the laboratory reference range for the anti-dsDNA-antibody at a particular prognosis level will show that the patient is positive for SLE and the level of SLE prognosis. Based on the level of SLE prognosis suitable treatments will be given to the patient. Results On each strip the first three wells were labelled the positive controls, the next three labels were measured the negative controls and the remaining wells were labelled sample A and B (three for each sample). In the first stage 50 µl of purified antigen was added to each well of the microplate strip. The strip was incubated for two minutes at room temperature to allow time for the antigen to bind to each plastic well. A layer of antigens was present in each well once incubation had finished. After incubation the wells were washed using a wash buffer to remove excess liquid. In stage three 100 µl of blocking buffer was added into each well and incubated for two minutes to remove unbound sites. The wells were washed again to remove excess liquid. In the next step 50 µl of the positive controls, negative controls and the test autosera samples were loaded into the relevant wells. The strip was then incubated for 10 minutes at room temperature. After incubation for 10 minutes the we lls were washed to remove the unbound antibodies. Once the wash was done 50 µl of secondary antibody was added to the wells. Then the wells were incubated for 5 minutes at room temperature. The washing procedure was repeated again to remove any unbound secondary antibodies. In stage nine 50 µl of the HRP enzyme substrate was added to the wells. The strip was incubated for 5 minutes at room temperature. This allowed sufficient time for the HRP enzyme which is conjugated to secondary antibodies to metabolise the TBT substrate. The metabolisation of the TBT substrate produced a blue-coloured product. Each well turned blue fairly quickly during the incubation and the final strip is shown in figure 1. The intensity for the positive control was six, negative control was zero, and sample A and sample B was five. Figure 1. The micro plate strip showing the blue-coloured product after the enzyme substrate was added and then incubated for 5 minutes. For the final stage of the ELISA test the reaction was stopped by adding 50 µl of stop solution, (10% (v/v) phosphoric acid/ddH2O) into the wells. The blue solution turned yellow on addition of the stop solution. This is seen in figure 2. The intensity for the positive control was six, negative control was zero, sample A was one and sample B was two. Figure 2. The micro plate strip showing the yellow-coloured product after the addition of the stop buffer to the blue-coloured product. Absorbance measurements were obtained using a plate reader for the controls and samples. The absorbance relates to the concentration of anti-dsDNA antibodies present in the samples. The data is shown in table 1. Table 1. The absorbance data for the controls and samples. +ive controls -ive controls Sample 1 Sample 2 1 2 3 Avg 1 2 3 Avg 1 2 3 Avg 1 2 3 Avg 0.660 0.717 0.655 0.677 0.063 0.053 0.084 0.067 0.139 0.139 0.141 0.140 0.287 0.255 0.236 0.259 Discussion The antigen that coated the wells of the microplate strip was double stranded DNA. Two epitopes were present. During the reaction when the control and the autosera samples are loaded, the antibodies present are being detected which is complementary to the antigens coated in the wells. The antibodies need to be diluted using a blocking buffer for prevention of non-specific binding of proteins in the antiserum on the well specifically the solid phase. The antibodies in the serum will bind to the complementary antigens during incubation. Any unbound antibodies are removed by washing. After this, secondary antibodies are added in order to detect the primary antibodies. During incubation the secondary antibodies binds to the primary antibodies (Vlab.amrita.edu, 2011). Looking at figure 1, in the positive control samples, the intensity of the blue coloured product was six due to a known amount of anti-dsDNA antibodies present in the sample. This is used to show the procedure is working. The negative control had a blue colour intensity of zero due to no antibodies present in the sample. The intensities of both sample A and B were similar on the scale of five. From figure 2, looking at the positive control sample the intensity of the yellow coloured product is five due to the high amount of known antibodies present which a patient with SLE should have. The mean absorbance value from table 1 for sample 1 is lower than sample 2 which correlates to the colour intensity which is lower than sample 2. This means that sample 1 is from the patient when she was feeling relatively well due to a very low amount of anti-dsDNA antibodies present. Sample 2 has a higher absorbance value than sample 1 with a colour intensity which is also higher at two. Because of t his result sample 2 comes from the patient when she was feeling unwell. Also this level of intensity shows that the patient has a low level for SLE because of low level detection. The experiment was successful because the results obtained were precise and accurate. The only issue during the experiment was that the intensity of the blue-coloured product was the same for both sample A and B when the enzyme substrate was added. Sample 1 had the lowest concentration of anti-DNA antibodies whereas sample 2 had the higher concentration of anti-dsDNA antibodies. This is because of the colour intensity of the final product where sample 1 is low and sample 2 is higher. The mean absorbance value for sample A is 0.14. The laboratory reference range value for sample A is -0.02. Based on the laboratory reference value this means that when the patient was feeling relatively well she was negative towards SLE. The mean absorbance for sample B is 0.26. The laboratory reference value for sample B is 0.13. The absorbance value is higher than the reference value meaning it is positive for a disease prognosis level which is a low level. This means that the patient is mainly disease free but with periods where low disease activity occurs. ELISA is a procedure used to measure the concentration of antigen present in the sample. The estimate of the analyte concentration is as a result from the construction of a standard curve. The standard curve is constructed from the making of several serial dilutions of a known concentration of the analyte across the range of concentrations close to the expected unknown concentration. The unknown samples concentration is derived by interpolation which needs a standard curve which has been properly generated (Natarajan and Remick, 2008). As the intensity yellow colour in the end result has a value of only two we can say that the patient has a very low level of anti-dsDNA present which means the disease is likely to be calm but with a few periods of low disease activity (Kirkbride, 2015). These low disease activities include cutaneous manifestations, musculoskeletal manifestations and serositis which can be treated with nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS) or immunosuppression medications which have a low potency on top of the already taken hydroxychloroquine and corticosteroids (Mosca et al, 2001). Bibliography Albishri, J., Alsubai, K. and Alsubai, H. (2015). Vitamin D in systemic lupus erythematosis. World journal of pharmacy and pharmaceutical sciences, 5(1), pp.455-462. Bio-Rad. (n.d.). ELISA Procedure | Bio-Rad. [online] Available at: https://www.bio-rad-antibodies.com/elisa-procedure.html [Accessed 19 Dec. 2016]. Bio-Rad. (n.d.). What is ELISA? An Introduction to ELISA | Bio-Rad. [Online] Available at: https://www.bio-rad-antibodies.com/an-introduction-to-elisa.html [Accessed 19 Dec. 2016]. Bolland, S. and Ravetch, J. (2000). Spontaneous Autoimmune Disease in FcÃŽÂ ³RIIB-Deficient Mice Results from Strain-Specific Epistasis. Immunity, 13(2), pp.277-285. Csaba, G. (2014). Hormones in the immune system and their possible role. A critical review. Acta Microbiologica et Immunologica Hungarica, 61(3), pp.241-260. Doria, A., Iaccarino, L., Ghirardello, A., Zampieri, S., Arienti, S., Sarzi-Puttini, P., Atzeni, F., Piccoli, A. and Todesco, S. (2006). Long-Term Prognosis and Causes of Death in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus. The American Journal of Medicine, 119(8), pp.700-706. Gill, J., Quisel, A., Rocca, P. and Walters, D. (2003). Diagnosis of systemic lupus erythematosus. American Family Physician, 68(11), pp.2179-2186. Kirkbride, G. (2015). Understanding Laboratory Tests and Results for Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE). [Online] Hospital for Special Surgery. Available at: https://www.hss.edu/conditions_understanding-laboratory-tests-and-results-for-systemic-lupus-erythematosus.asp [Accessed 20 Dec. 2016]. Lisnevskaia, L., Murphy, G. and Isenberg, D. (2014). Systemic lupus erythematosus. The Lancet, 384(9957), pp.1878-1888. Lupusinternational.com. (n.d.). Hormones and SLE Lupus International. [Online] Available at: http://www.lupusinternational.com/Living-With-Lupus/Pregnancy-and-Lupus-/Hormones-and-SLE.aspx [Accessed 19 Dec. 2016]. Mandal, A. (2014). What is Autoimmunity?. [Online] News-Medical.net. Available at: http://www.news-medical.net/health/What-is-Autoimmunity.aspx [Accessed 16 Dec. 2016]. Mosca, M., Ruiz-Irastorza, G., Khamashta, M. and Hughes, G. (2001). Treatment of systemic lupus erythematosus. International Immunopharmacology, 1(6), pp.1065-1075. Natarajan, S. and Remick, D. (2008). The ELISA Standard Save: Calculation of sample concentrations in assays with a failed standard curve. Journal of Immunological Methods, 336(2), pp.242-245. Petri, M., Orbai, A., Alarcà ³n, G., Gordon, C., Merrill, J., Fortin, P., Bruce, I., Isenberg, D., Wallace, D., Nived, O., Sturfelt, G., Ramsey-Goldman, R., Bae, S., Hanly, J., Sà ¡nchez-Guerrero, J., Clarke, A., Aranow, C., Manzi, S., Urowitz, M., Gladman, D., Kalunian, K., Costner, M., Werth, V., Zoma, A., Bernatsky, S., Ruiz-Irastorza, G., Khamashta, M., Jacobsen, S., Buyon, J., Maddison, P., Dooley, M., van Vollenhoven, R., Ginzler, E., Stoll, T., Peschken, C., Jorizzo, J., Callen, J., Lim, S., Fessler, B., Inanc, M., Kamen, D., Rahman, A., Steinsson, K., Franks, A., Sigler, L., Hameed, S., Fang, H., Pham, N., Brey, R., Weisman, M., McGwin, G. and Magder, L. (2012). 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Sunday, January 19, 2020

Essay on 1983 Essay

Different dictionaries provide a number of meanings to the word fool. Firstly, the word fool perhaps implies â€Å"a silly person†, â€Å"a dumb† or even a â€Å"dunderhead†. Apart from these negative connotations to the word fool, the term could also mean, â€Å"a professional in counterfeiting folly to draw entertainment for others, a clown, or a jester†. Besides, a fool could a character in a script of other literal work that is created and manipulated to feature a fool. In Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare, there are several unconventional fools other than the clown Feste. Feste and the cauldron of fools in the play dexterously combine their unusual traits and wits to stimulate other characters into their charade eliciting their own form of foolery. This paper explores the role of the fool in William Shakespeare play, Twelfth Night. To begin with, Feste plays a significant role in the Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare in the Illyrian society. He features a transcendental ringleader capable of trouncing conventional social hierarchies and leading them in his own views and interests, aside from the intense criticism of his environment. Feste’s significance in the play is well embedded in his ability to socialize and interact with the nobles and the common with equal ease. In the play, Feste is an employed clown of Olivia’s late father. Therefore, he is an â€Å"official fool† implying that he is permitted to speak the truth to people surrounding him (Act I. Scene V). This role reflects Feste and truthful fool in this Illyrian society, even though he mirrors a critic of his environment. William Shakespeare also injects humor in the play through the characters and mannerism of Feste. For instance, Feste emerges as a conventional fool when he clad as the curate, Sir Topaz. He goes on to visit the imprisoned Malvolio incarnated as Sir Topaz in the company of like fools, Sir Toby and Maria. Shakespeare exerts a shower of humor and wit in the play through the Feste’s charade. Feste humorously abuses the unawares Malvolio of the disguise calling him a â€Å"Satan† and a â€Å"lunatic† (Act IV. Scene II). In a punning twist and turns of words, the in-disguise Feste cum Sir Topaz wittingly confuses Malvolio bringing out the fool in the latter. Incidentally, Malvolio featured as an intentional ruin to people’s pleasure in the play. Therefore, Feste’s folly dawns an acceptable and just behavior among the audience in light of his condemnable actions. Feste represents a genius with words character in the play. He has a knack for witty repartee and word play. Indeed, this justifies Cesario’s description of Feste as the â€Å"wise fellow to play the fool† (3.1.14). Besides, Feste’s penchant for excellent sizing up situations is dramatic and significant in the play. He points out other character’s folly drawing a couple of bucks and a laugh. For instance, Feste’s shrewd description of â€Å"the greedy and drunk† Sir Toby in an honest and humorous mockery justifies to the Elizabethan audience his legitimacy as a licensed fool. Notwithstanding, this folly acts offers an honest insight to the audience of the concealed and dark secrets and aspects of a character in the play. Source document

Saturday, January 11, 2020

Adult Antisocial Behavior

The Antisocial Personal Disorder or APD is recognized to be a psychological mental health problem and is deemed to cause certain kinds of behavior in an individual.   Although the effect of this mental illness in a person would greatly vary, the disorder is said to result to violent tendencies, like destructive behavior even committing crimes like rape or murder.There are of course interventions that can be applied to suppress its impacts on children and adult, and there are early warning signs that can be detected that signals personal affliction of the ailment. (McCord and Tremblay, 1992) The inability to prevent this disorder from early childhood can result to the sustaining of the disorder until adulthood, which can lead to violent outcomes.   The antisocial disorder can be more common that what is usually perceived, as there are cases when people would be mild psychopaths – those who have violent tendencies, but not as threatening as full-blown psychopaths. (Kantor, 2 006)   How the disorder can affect an individual can be wide and varied, and the capacity for treatment can also be ranged.The prevalent and general feature of the APD is the individual’s indifference or ignorance of other people, and the pattern of such behavior is consistent and sustained, often resulting to violence.   Diagnosis would be dependent of the people surrounding the individual – those who witness his/her behavior – and the childhood history of one’s conduct and attitudes.   (Lykken, 1995)The occurrence of the antisocial personality disorder is higher in males than in females, with 3% and 1% respectively, of the population diagnosed as having the mental disorder.   (Wolman, 1999) Several symptoms serves as red flags that indicate affliction, and these attitudinal indicators can vary widely among individuals.   It would be the consistency of the dysfunctional behavior that would determine if the person is indeed antisocial.The indivi dual’s inability to feel remorse or guilt after committing repetitive dysfunctional attitude would be a strong indicator of antisocial disorder.One of the markers of the antisocial disorder is the constant resort to deceit and manipulation of a person.   Acts of violence and crime are committed without regard for others or care for the law or any other implications or ramifications.   Violating the rights of others is a known characteristic of APD, as with the tendency to lie or steal.   Disregard for others and difficulty to make and maintain friends is common in antisocial individuals.They can also be susceptible to alcoholism, drug dependency, or any other substance abuse, and can be prone to committing acts of violence.  Ã‚   People with the antisocial behavior disorder can experience extreme difficulties in relating with others, or maintaining relationships, as they have little regard for the emotional and physical well-being of others.Other characteristics that would show consistent dysfunctional behavior in terms of the persons capacity to socialize can be an indicator of the disorder.The etiological background of the APD finds some connection to genetics, as the disorder is argued to be something inherited or passed over from parents, although the relationship would only refer to higher probability of occurrence and not the actual genetic transmission of the disorder.   Ultimately, the behavior of the person would be shaped by his/her social environment.The family of the individual with APD can be a strong cause for the development and progression of the disorder.   For one, individuals with fathers that are alcoholics or sociopaths can be said to be more prone to developing the disorder; also, it can cause somatization disorder in females. (Kantor, 2006)Another probable cause of antisocial disorder is the lack of maternal care or a mother, in the first years of the life of the child.   Parents of individuals with the disorder are usually lenient and do not show consistent effort to discipline the child.   Also, these parents displays unbecoming attitude, like alcoholism or abuse, which can impact on the behavior of the child.   Improper rearing can distort the emotional and mental development of a child, and therefore lead to antisocial behavior in adulthood. The Macdonald triad – pyromania, bedwetting, and animal cruelty – is identified by scholars to be a sign of antisocial disorder in people below 18, which can easily be sustained until adulthood. (Heginbotham, 2000)But the true cause of antisocial behavior in adults can be difficult to pinpoint, are prediction and tracing is quite complex and tedious; but the above indicators are noted to be the common characteristics of adults diagnosed with the disorder.In our society, the antisocial behavior disorder is estimated to be found in a certain percentage of the population- with males having more propensities for acquiring the mental diseas e.   Studies show that 5.8% of males are under a lifetime risk of being antisocial, which is significantly higher than the female risk rate. (Wolman, 1999)   For the females, the lifetime risk factor can be present in 1.2% of the population.   Actual prevalence the mental disorder is similarly higher in males, with 3% of the population said to be antisocial, which equates to almost 10 million in the United States. (Wolman, 1999)   The females have a 1% rate of antisocial behavior.Environments where violent is prevalent, like penitentiaries and prisons, are noted to have 75% of the population diagnosed as being antisocial.   This clearly shows that individuals with the antisocial disorder are more likely to commit crimes and be penalized.The treatment of the antisocial behavior would necessitate the mapping of the behavior of the person in able to determine the appropriate therapy or treatment that would be applied.   Although treatment and various social techniques is so mething that is available to people with the disorder, psychologists would claim that conduct disorders would be something that can be resistant to treatment.Treatments of adults with the disorder is especially difficult, can no scientific evidence would prove that certain treatment indeed works.   Therapy and communication training is children can be a more effective tool, as it would prevent development of the behavior.   Exposing a person to social environments and cultivating positive relationships, like a good classroom setting, or more importantly, as healthy family life, can be a long-term deterrent to antisocial behavior.In conclusion, antisocial behavior is a mental disorder that can lead a person to commit acts of violence – how violent it would be can vary to a wide extent – from domestic violence to theft to heinous crimes like rape, murder, and homicide.The absence of remorse or any signs of guilt is cause by APD, and this type of emotional behavior wo uld cause the individual to continuously exhibit dysfunctions in their behavior.   The antisocial disorder is something that can start from early childhood and can be developed to psychopath behavior until adulthood.   Although genetic relationship can also be found, it is basically caused by the environment and situation of a person during his formative years of childhood, which can have massive impacts on behavior later in life.   Individuals with the APD are difficult to interact with, usually always in solitude, irritable, moody, deceptive and manipulative.The disorder can occur in a small percentage of the population, and the prospect for cure or repression can be more effective if intervention would start from the onset of detection, or preferably, from childhood.ReferencesBlack, Donald. (2000). Bad Boys, Bad Men: Confronting Antisocial Personality Disorder. C. Lindon Larson. United Kingdom: Oxford University Press.Brain, Christine. (2002). Advanced Psychology: Applicati ons, Issues and Perspectives. United Kingdom: Nelson Thornes.Heginbotham, Christopher. (2000). Philosophy, Psychiatry, and Psychotherapy: Personal Identity in Mental Disorder. England: Ashgate.Kantor, Martin. (2006). The Psychopathy of Everyday Life: How Antisocial Personality Disorder Affects All of Us. United States: Praeger Publishers.Larsen, Randy, and David Buss. (2008). Personality Psychology: Domains of Knowledge about Human Nature. Boston: McGraw Hill.